Can You Go Home Again?

Specifically, the question today is whether you should accept an offer to return to a job you'd once held and where you had done extraordinary work.

Steve Spurrier, familiar to many sports fans as that guy with the bitter beer face and the visor cap leading the University of Florida Gators to many successful seasons in the 1990s, rejected an offer to return to his old job yesterday. Spurrier, for the uninitiated, had left the U. of F., where he was a legend, to try his hand at professional football. What had been genius in college led to mediocrity in the NFL and Spurrier was fired last year after two seasons as the head coach of the Washington Redskins.

Ironically, Spurrier was replaced in Washington by Joe Gibbs, who had become legendary as the Redskins coach in the 1980s and early 1990s and returned to his old job after a decade-long absence. Now Gibbs is struggling and the team is worse than it was under Spurrier. He's had to face numerous catcalls about whether he can do the job he once did so admirably.

So if your old boss comes crawling back to you asking you to return to a job you once held and where you were a star, do you do it? How do you decide?

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The common man takes immense satisfaction in his work. He does not seek to "expand his horizons" or "realize his growth potential," doing things that he has no business doing. Instead, he learns his craft and takes pride in perfecting it. We all respect the skilled craftsman. Good wages can be made from mastering your trade.

I'd mostly evaluate it just the same as an offer from a new company. There would be two big differences:

1. I would know more about this company, its culture, reward systems etc; hence my decision (one way or the other) would be made easier - with less uncertainty. Plus I would be able to negotiate better.

2. Secondly, if I decided to decline my ex-boss, I would get a lot of personal satisfaction from it :)